Fluorobiotech: Local scientists bringing Biotech research to life in Africa
Entrepreneurship often begins in unexpected places. For some it’s a family business, for others, it’s a research project that takes on a life of its own. For Dr. Du Preez van Staden and Dr. Ross Vermeulen, co-founders of Fluorobiotech, it began with two very different upbringings that somehow converged into the pursuit of one shared vision of making biotechnology more accessible and impactful in Africa.
Roots that shaped resilience
Du Preez grew up in Windhoek, Namibia, where curiosity was his constant companion. He was the kind of child who wanted to know how things worked – pressing buttons, tinkering with machines, and asking “why?” That instinct carried him into science, where he found joy in re-imagining biology as solutions to practical problems. During his master’s, he experimented with antimicrobials in bone cement to treat infections – an early glimpse into how research could translate into real-world innovation.
Ross, meanwhile, was raised in East Johannesburg in a family where entrepreneurship wasn’t just encouraged – it was lived. His grandparents and parents all built businesses from the ground up, from petrol stations to side hustles like gift baskets and mobile discos. Weekends were spent setting up sound equipment with his father. Holidays were spent on a friend’s game farm engaging with international guests. It was here that Ross learned two key lessons: the discipline of delivering consistently, and the joy of creating value for others.
Different childhoods, yet both ingrained with curiosity, initiative, and resilience. These qualities would later become the foundation of their entrepreneurial partnership.
The pandemic pivot
By 2019, both founders were deep in academia, pursuing high-level research at Stellenbosch University. Then the pandemic hit. Global funding cuts forced Du Preez to confront a difficult truth, that the academic path he had worked toward was suddenly less certain. For Ross, the pandemic shone a harsh light on the vulnerabilities of South Africa’s biotech ecosystem. Critical raw materials like recombinant proteins were scarce and costly – and without them, research and innovation slowed to a crawl.
Instead of turning away, the two scientists leaned in. Together, they asked: what if we could build these tools locally, more affordably, and at world-class quality? That question became the starting point for Fluorobiotech. A company co-founded by Du Preez and Ross to address one of the biotechnology sector’s biggest challenges – access to affordable, high-quality raw materials.
Fluorobiotech develops resource-efficient, scalable processes to produce recombinant proteins, the building blocks of molecular biology and biopharmaceutical manufacturing. These critical reagents are often prohibitively expensive or difficult to source in Africa, limiting the continent’s ability to compete on a global stage. By lowering costs and building local capacity, Fluorobiotech is unlocking innovation not only in South Africa but across the continent – with a vision that stretches far beyond.
Growing from the lab to the market
Like many academic spinouts, Fluorobiotech’s first challenge was translation: taking “lab language” and reworking it for investors, customers, and partners. “We quickly realised that credibility required more than great ideas,” Du Preez reflects. “We had to prove it.”
That process pushed the business to mature. Together, the founders learned to communicate benefits rather than features, to “sell it before you build it,” and to validate their technology against international standards. Today, Fluorobiotech is advancing product validation through an ISO 13485 quality management system and building credibility with key partners, including Afrigen and Stellenbosch University. They have been supported throughout their journey by Stellenbosch University LaunchLab and Innovus Technology Transfer Office, as well as other stakeholders and organisations. Significant product launches and customer engagements are expected in the coming months, signaling the company’s growing role in the African biotech ecosystem.
Building beyond the lab
For both founders, entrepreneurship extends far beyond technical innovation. It is a practice of mindset, values, and persistence.
Advice from Du Preez:
- “My main advice is to stay curious. Don’t be afraid to ‘press the buttons’ and see what happens, challenge assumptions, ask questions that might seem impossible, and explore where that curiosity takes you. If you understand how something works, you can figure out how it breaks. If you know how it breaks, you can learn how to fix it, and eventually how to improve it.
- Entrepreneurship is not easy, especially when you’re trying to do things differently. Work hard, listen to advice, but also trust yourself to decide what is right for you. I believe in always leaving things better than I found them, whether it’s people, projects, or the broader ecosystem. That mindset extends to growing the people around you and strengthening the ecosystem you are part of. In a place like South Africa, and Africa more broadly, we need to work together to build strong industries. By doing so, we create an environment where not just one company, but entire communities can thrive and that’s how we succeed locally and, ultimately, globally.”
Advice from Ross:
- “Entrepreneurship is equal parts courage, curiosity, and resilience. Remember that optimists get to be rich, cynics just get to be right, and success often hides the hard knocks behind it.
- Mistakes don’t just add up, they multiply. However, pressure is a privilege, so learn to cultivate gratitude because it’s this mindset that turns setbacks into lessons. You’ll often need to move fast, very very fast, yet sometimes the best progress comes when you remember that slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.
- Learn the vocabulary of your investors, customers, and team. Investors hate surprises, customers pay the bills, and if you want to go far, you will need to go together. Communicating clearly with all of them is non-negotiable.
- Research turns money into ideas; innovation turns ideas into money – but if it’s not profitable, it won’t be sustainable. So build things people need, not just what they want.
- And finally, if you’re a STEM graduate wondering whether to take the leap, remember this: technology is only 10% of the venture; the other 90% is change management, which requires credibility, trust, and building the right network.”
Their words reveal what sits behind science: a deep belief in curiosity, courage, and collective growth. For Du Preez, it is about leaving every space better than he found it; for Ross, it is about resilience and clear communication. Both remind us that innovation is not only about what happens in the lab, but also about the people, values, and ecosystems that carry it forward.
In South Africa, and also across the continent, science is too often seen as an isolated sector, a specialised world that feels distant from everyday life. But when scientists step into entrepreneurship, perceptions begin to shift. They broaden access, create relevance, and show how research can be adapted for the African context. In doing so, they transform science from something abstract into a tangible, impactful, and deep connection to our community.
Ross and Du Preez represent a new generation of African entrepreneurs who are building ventures that matter – and building them for good.
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